


prologue: track zero

by schadenfreudes



Series: our synergy amplifies [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Gen, agents!verkwan, alternatively the boom boom au, basically the gang™ as secret agents, mastermind!jihoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 04:30:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8875978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schadenfreudes/pseuds/schadenfreudes
Summary: Hansol leans against the concrete wall in an alleyway and checks his watch for the time.  "Chwe Hansol? Base 17 Transferee?"





	

**Author's Note:**

> this took me about 5 solid days to complete i regret not outlining  
> special thanks to the bitch of my heart, [nykteris](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nykteris) for beta-ing and to yanna for helping me decide on implied seoksoon

 

[Gangnam District, Seoul; 11:59 PM]

 

A collective incandescent glow comes from the casting of the street lights in Gangnam district. In the distance, the faint sounds of an electronic bassline permeate the air.

 

Hansol leans against the concrete wall in an alleyway and checks his watch for the time.

 

"Chwe Hansol? Base 17 Transferee?"

  
  
Hansol looks up at the sound of his name and sees a figure approaching him, a boy about his age, clad in all black and almost blending in with the shadows save for his bright hair.

 

"The name's Boo. James Boo." the boy says in the most pretentious English he could manage.

  
Hansol inwardly cringes and looks horrified at this but forces a confused, polite laugh. 

  
"Just messing with you," he snickers and sticks his hand out, a confident air about him. "Boo Seungkwan, at your service."  


Hansol shakes his hand, laughing genuinely this time and asks, “Chwe Hansol, but you already knew that. Uh, not to be rude but where’s Jun hyung? I thought he’d be the one meeting me tonight.”

 

“Ah well, our Jun hyung is out recruiting another asset tonight. We don’t know how long he’s going to be taking with this one.” Seungkwan replies.

 

Hansol nods in understanding.

 

“All set to go?” Seungkwan says, already turning around to lead him to base. They walk in-step with each other, Seungkwan chatting him up along the way.

 

“I read your file. For research, sorry. Born in 1998, right?”

 

“Yeah. February 18th.”

 

“We’re the same age then. You have the same birthday as Seokmin hyung.” Hansol gives him a confused look. Seungkwan pats his shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry, you’ll meet him later. Our other active agents besides me are on fieldwork right now, but I’ll introduce you to everyone on base." 

  
"Sounds good."  


It was easy to talk to Seungkwan, he finds. They exchange stories about their trainee days and Hansol learns that Seungkwan is from Jeju island, and came to train in Seoul under Jun hyung’s supervision 10 months ago. Only recently had he become an active agent, as he was deemed skilled enough to graduate to the field.

 

Hansol tells him that he’s already completed training in another Pledis base and was only relocated to Base 17 to prevent crowd control in their main branch. He’d met Jun hyung after getting notified about moving. By the end of their meeting he’d given Hansol a briefing on how Base 17 operates and instructions upon meeting up.

 

They turn a corner and walk a bit more until they reach a grey sliding door secured by a standard padlock. The building looked like a warehouse from outside, not standing out in any particular way.

 

Seungkwan produces a key from his pocket and unlocks the padlock, sliding the door open. When they get inside he replaces the lock and pushes a button that makes it switch back around to its original position outside.

 

They step into a dark reception area where Hansol notices a second door made of matte black steel. On the corner was a fingerpad glowing blue. He also notices a retina scanner above it.

 

“That first lock was just for show on the outside. Of course we couldn’t leave security alone to a measly padlock. Wonwoo hyung installed and programmed the equipment on this door to ensure that the only people who can get through are members of Base 17.”

 

He scans his handprint and eye on the respective scanners and the system gives an affirmative beep. The heavy door unlocks and Seungkwan pushes his way inside.

 

“We’ll make sure to input your biometrics on it tomorrow. But for now, welcome.”

 

Hansol doesn’t know what he was expecting, but whatever it was, Base 17 didn’t meet it. He looked around what looks like a normal common room for a boys’ dorm. There was a long suede couch, a coffee table made of light wood, and an entertainment system in front of it.

 

At the back he sees a mini pantry and a kitchen aisle, a normal fridge and a fridge stocked with cola and other assorted drinks. On the counter there’s also an espresso machine, and beside the counter stands a water dispenser.

 

To the left of the common area is another area in which Hansol assumes they gather for group discussions.

 

Highlighters, blueprints and note markers are scattered around a huge table and a whiteboard stands beside it. The wall that surrounds this area is made of cloth-covered cork boards and he sees photographs, pins and yarn all in place.

 

There two doorways at the far end of the room, one he assumes led to their bedrooms, and the other holding a flight of stairs going down.

 

Seungkwan turns to him. “Are you tired? We can tour you around the base tomorrow, if you want.”

 

Hansol shakes his head. “It’s alright. I’d rather get it over with now so that I’ll know where everything is by tomorrow.”

 

“Okay, well let’s sit down so I can run you through our ground rules here.” Seungkwan gestures to the couch.

 

“First,” he holds up a finger, “you’re welcome to use the training room whenever you want to. It’s really no issue with space since it can usually accommodate most of us at the same time.

 

“Next Jihoon hyung is scary when he gets mad so, uh, just don’t make him mad I guess?”

 

Hansol mentally takes note of this.

 

“Lastly, here in Base 17 we all share. Whether it be food or information, we share it with the group, okay? Usually whenever Seungcheol hyung is home, we all gather at the end of the day and just talk to each other. That’s what makes us a stronger team, y’know?”

 

Hansol smiles at the thought. “Yeah, I think I got it.”

  


“Oh, uh also, we have to ration our supplies among more than ten people, so if you could, please use only the right amount. We ran out of toothpaste once and it was a disaster.”

 

* * *

  


“So everyone who isn’t here right now would be Seungcheol hyung, Joshua hyung, Mingyu hyung and Jun hyung since they’re all out completing tasks.”

 

Seungkwan reaches for the tablet on the coffee table and opens what looks like their team member database. He shows Hansol the screen.

 

Choi Seungcheol

08\. 22. 95

Field Agent

Training Period: 6 Years

 

“Seungcheol hyung is our eldest and most experienced agent here, as you can see, he came from 6 years of training. He’s also our leader of sorts since the main base always disseminates instructions through him.”

 

Hong Jisoo

12\. 30. 95

Field Agent

Training Period: 2 Years

 

“Joshua hyung works on cases that involve foreign players since he’s very skilled with different languages.”

 

Kim Mingyu

04\. 06. 97

Field Agent

Training Period: 4 Years

 

“Mingyu hyung uses his charm to get around easily and infiltrate enemy bases. He also cooks for all of us when he’s home.”

 

Moon Junhui

06\. 10. 96

Base recruiter & Trainer

Specialty: Formation and Defense

 

“And as you know, Junhui hyung recruits and trains our agents. Soonyoung hyung helps out with combat training too. He deals with offense and weaponry whereas Junhui hyung trains formation and defense.”

 

“Soonyoung hyung?”

 

“That’s me!” he hears a muffled echo coming from the bathroom. They both turns at the sound and hear the flush of a toilet. A few seconds pass in relative silence wherein the only noise in the room was the squeaking of a faucet. The bathroom door bursts open and a boy in a tracksuit comes out, waving. He bounds over to them on the couch.

 

“Kwon Soonyoung. I’m this team’s visual.” he smiles proudly, with all of his teeth showing and his eyes almost disappearing. “Sometimes I deal with weapons too.”

 

Seungkwan gives him a very offended scoff.

 

“No need to be so salty, Seungkwanie.” Soonyoung giggles.

 

“At least I’m not basic” Seungkwan immediately retorts.

 

“Yah! How dare you call your favorite hyung basic!”

 

Seungkwan gasps and puts a hand on his chest, mocking offense. “I never called Jeonghan hyung basic.”

 

Hansol watches them banter with familiarity. They complement each other a lot with the way they match each other’s humor, he thought.

 

Seungkwan introduces them and they chat about each other’s backgrounds. He learns that Soonyoung has a black belt in Taekwondo and is the person who trains their agents in handling weaponry. He determines which fighting style and weapon is best suited to that agent and specifically trains them according to the result.

 

Like Seungkwan, Soonyoung had the charisma that made anyone feel welcome and comfortable, and being a more quiet and reserved person himself, Hansol was quite thankful for this.

 

“Watch your 2-o'clock.” A tall slender boy says from the doorway. “Targets approaching from the right.”

 

Hansol looks around him in alert when Seungkwan taps him and points out that he was talking to an earpiece.

 

“There’s a doorway to your left that leads to the laundry room. Take it. You good? Okay. Okay you’re clear. I’ll navigate you back to the lounge now.” His voice was loud and clear when he spoke, giving precise directions to the person on the other end of the line.

 

Soonyoung runs over to him, half-yelling a very obnoxious “jagiya~” and latches himself onto his back, but he doesn’t seem to notice or mind.

 

He goes over to the pantry and gets a drink from the fridge while talking to his headset and swiping at his tablet. Soonyoung brings his attention to the newcomers on the couch and he waves distractedly to them.

 

Together, they waddle back to wherever he came from, but not before he gives Hansol a warm smile and mouths “Welcome.” Soonyoung waves at them before they disappear into another room.

 

* * *

 

 

"That was Seokmin hyung, he's half of our communications unit. He’s in charge of me and Mingyu on missions.”

 

Hansol didn’t know who was going to be handling him yet, but he hoped it was going to be Seokmin, judging from how clear he gave out instructions over the earpiece. He mulls over the idea when something occurs to him.

 

"But wait, shouldn't he be behind a computer or something? Since he’s managing their movement?”

  
"No need. Jihoon hyung manually re-programmed the comms tablets to have a greater data and performance capacity." 

  
“Not on his own he didn’t. Those tablets needed 2 hours of rewiring...each.” a deep voice pipes up from the doorway. “It took us about 6 hours all in all to complete.”

 

Hansol looks up to see a light haired boy layered in a couple of slouchy jackets with sleeves too long for his arms, creating sweater paws on both hands. Dangling from one of the paws was a red toolbox.

 

“Wouldn’t it have just taken 4-”

 

“Rewiring took 4 hours. _Assembling_ took an extra 2.” he glances at Hansol and greets him, “Hey. You must be the newbie.”

 

Hansol nods and introduces himself.

 

“I’m Jeon Wonwoo, the base technician. If your tech has problems in the future, which I doubt the probability of, just saying, come find me or give me a call.” he smiles genuinely.

 

“Ah but Wonwoo hyung, where are you going?” Seungkwan asks.

 

“Jihoon sent me to fix surveillance equipment inside the site we’re currently monitoring. Didn’t even bother asking Soonyoung to give me a weapon and just deadass gave me this swiss army knife.” he raised it for them to see.

 

“This late, though?”

 

Wonwoo shrugs. “Time is relative. Especially since this is Jihoon we’re talking about.”

 

* * *

 

 

They go down the flight of stairs leading to the basement and enter a small workroom cramped with a huge table that perches countless computer screens, an impeccable sound system, and other tiny screens that show some kind of surveillance.

 

A big leather swivel chair completes this set-up, and a boy with curly brown hair and round glasses sits atop it.

 

“No. No one’s going to be able to see from that angle. Adjust it to the left.” the boy says, speaking to the mic on his headphones.

 

"That’s Lee Jihoon, our database master and," Seungkwan lowers his voice, "aegyo fairy."  


As if on cue, Jihoon turns around in his chair, hands never leaving the keyboard and still working at it.  


"Yah, you wanna call me aegyo fairy again to my face, Seungkwanie? Want me to cut your wifi for a month?"  


“What! How did you even hear that?”

 

“Your mic, idiot. You left it on the entire time.” Jihoon nods to the clip-on microphone he has on his sweater.

  
"Ah hyung, but don’t cut my wifi anyway," Seungkwan smiles a shit-eating grin.  


Jihoon scrunches his nose in playful distaste, “I should, considering you were out there, completely spilling your life story on the streets, where literally anyone could hear you.”

 

Seungkwan turns red and stops talking, leaving the only sounds in the room to come from the incessant clicking of the keyboard.

 

Hansol stares, wide-eyed.  


"Uh, I don't think you're supposed to be typing without watching the screen?" he points out.

  
Jihoon's eyes flit over to meet Hansol’s.

 

His hands continue to fly all over the keyboard while he steadily holds Hansol's gaze.  


“Chwe Hansol, Field Agent, Born 18th of February 1998, correct?”

 

Hansol nods in affirmation.

 

"Don't tell me how to do my job.” Jihoon says, turning back around and continuing to work on his hexacodes.  


Hansol promptly reddens with a shade to match Seungkwan’s.

  
Seungkwan laughs, clapping his hands in delight. "Jihoon hyung is very perceptive and is a genius with information flow. He always looks serious but we know he has a soft spot for all of us.”

 

“Whatever you want to believe, Boo Seungkwan.” Jihoon mumbles with the slightest hint of a small smile in his tone.

 

“He also writes songs in his spare time but please don't tell him I said that," Seungkwan mentions, taking care to cover his mic this time. They turn to leave the room, Seungkwan chirping a quick goodbye and Jihoon waving distractedly without turning from the screen.  


On one of the mini surveillance screens, he sees Wonwoo fixing up a new camera installation and waving to Jihoon through the lens.

 

* * *

 

  
They go down the hallway and enter what Seungkwan tells him is the training room. The room is by far the biggest area in the base, with targets to one side and dummy weapons lining an entire wall.

 

In the middle of the practice room is a boy with a knife in hand, assuming combat stance. He slices through the air at an imaginary opponent with surprising precision. The whizzing of his blade audible.

 

“Psst, Channie. Say hi to the newbie. This is your Hansol hyung.”

  
The boy tucks the blade of his knife and goes over to meet them.

 

“Nice to meet you, Hansol hyung. My name is Lee Chan and I’m still a trainee here.”

 

"Our baby Channie." Seungkwan adds.

 

"Aish hyung I'm not a baby. Here, watch this, I can work a switchblade now," Chan protests and makes a display of using the blade.  


"Ah, look at our baby wielding his little switchblade, how cute," a voice belonging to someone else echoes in the training room.  


Hansol sees someone step in and come near them. His bangs are long and his facial features look very soft. He carries with him a tablet similar to Seokmin’s, but has his headset around his neck.

  
Chan huffs indignantly, "Jeonghan hyung, your timing is so bad! I was trying to make a point!"

  
“Hyung! You’re done for the day?” Seungkwan asks him.

 

“Yeah, Cheol’s turning in early tonight. He’s wrapping everything up already. Probably returning to base within a day.” He turns to Chan "Channie, whose baby are you?"

  
"Ah really hyung, how long are you going to make me do this?" 

  
"Until you're 40. Hurry up, whose baby are you?"  


"Jeonghan hyung's" Chan grumbles, defeated.  


Jeonghan grins in triumph and turns to them. Hansol suddenly remembers to introduce himself. “I’m Chwe Hansol from the main office.” he bows, “Nice to meet you, Jeonghan-ssi.”

 

Jeonghan giggles and says, “Call me hyung instead, Hansol-ah.”  


"Jeonghan hyung is the other half of our comms unit.”

 

“That’s right, I’m in charge of Seungcheol and Jisoo on missions.”

 

He plucks the switchblade out of Chan’s hands and works a more complicated routine using it. Chan stares openly in awe.

 

“Teach me how you did that, hyung!”

 

They watch him show Chan the proper form to assume when holding the switchblade.

 

“Wah, honestly Jeonghan hyung could very well be on the field if he wanted to be" Chan comments casually.

  
"Why aren't you on the field, hyung? If you don’t mind me asking, that is."  


Jeonghan shrugs, "Well I used to be, but fieldwork takes a lot out of me, and I'm much better at ordering people around anyway.” he grins mischievously. “Besides, I can’t really leave Seokmin alone in the communications unit. If I did, he’d be managing four--well, five people, now that you’re here with us.”

 

* * *

 

 

“We should let him get settled. By the way, Jihoon hyung called for a group meeting tomorrow. It’s about the asset Jun hyung’s recruiting right now.” Seungkwan tells Jeonghan.

 

“I’ll put it on everyone’s messageboards don’t worry.”

 

Seungkwan leads him to his room where a single double decker stands in the middle of it. The top bunk is empty as this was the one unoccupied room they kept in case the main branch sent more people over, he learns.

 

Hansol lies down. He thinks about how familiar everyone is with each other in this base. He looks at the tablet Seungkwan lent him and scrolls past the team’s files again. They were all so close in age too. When he was in his training period back in the main base, he’d always encounter older sunbaes and although they’d treat him decently, he never really got too close with anyone, and he suspected it was because they only saw him as a kid. But now, he looks around and realizes, we’re _all_ kids _._

 

_Seungcheol hyung, Jeonghan hyung, Joshua hyung, Jun hyung, Soonyoung hyung, Wonwoo hyung, Jihoon hyung, Seokmin hyung, Mingyu hyung, Seungkwan, Chan_

 

_and me_

 

12 people, he counts.

 

His chest tightens with a newfound sense of belonging and he lets the warm feeling settle, putting him to sleep.

 

**Author's Note:**

> but where's minghao? :-)


End file.
